"We must all wait for the CNE's final results and litigation or litigation takes place in the courts (...). We will wait serenely for the results, as has already been the tradition in Angola", said João Pinto, vice president of the parliamentary bench of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) to Lusa.
The spokesman for the National Electoral Commission (CNE) released on Wednesday night the first provisional results of the general elections, which gave the MPLA an advantage.
Shortly afterwards, the number two on the lists of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Abel Chivukuvuku, said that provisional data collected from Wednesday's elections point to a victory for the party.
Speaking to Lusa this Thursday, João Pinto underlined that "in a democratic State of Law, the institutions that disclose the electoral results are the constitutionally competent institutions", which in the case of Angola is the CNE, "made up of reputable citizens", almost half of whom were appointed by the opposition, and "directed by a magistrate who suspends his function".
For the MPLA deputy, UNITA "does not have the culture of accepting first-hand results, even if provisional, and congratulating those who won. It always uses a narrative of victimization, with excessive enthusiasm, without taking into account that the electoral results do not depend only on the will of those who compete".
"It is not enough to want alternation. It is necessary to transmit trust. This is the great problem of our opposition, especially UNITA", he said, accusing the main opposition party in Angola of "seeking to discredit or create doubts in the institutions", said João Pinto, recalling that "if there is disagreement" with the electoral results, the parties "must appeal to the Constitutional Court".
The CNE announced this Thursday that the MPLA is ahead in the counting of votes, with 52.8 percent of the votes, followed by UNITA, with 42.8 percent, when 86.41 percent of votes in this Wednesday's general election.
With 77.12 percent of votes counted in Luanda, UNITA leads with 62.93 percent of votes and the MPLA follows in second position with 33.06 percent, CNE spokesman Lucas Quilundo announced this Thursday.
